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Rarely Seen, Seldom Heard: People with Intellectual Disabilities in the Mass Media

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Abstract

Stigmatizing messages and underrepresentation of people with intellectual disabilities within mass media are communicated to vast audiences and have considerable potential to detrimentally affect these individuals. This chapter explores the nature of such representations as well as how they are disseminated to audiences and can influence their thinking, emotions, and behaviors. It discusses the limited literature about people with intellectual disabilities in three mass media—newspapers, television, and film—and considers how these media can contribute to reproducing and counteracting stigma. The chapter also highlights gaps in the literature, future directions for research, and implications for practice and advocacy.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to be part of a participatory research group that collaborates to study the stories that films tell about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and present our findings in traditional and more accessible formats. I appreciate Matthew Devine’s assistance with identifying diverse literature about mass media and disability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Rebecca Renwick

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  1. Rebecca Renwick
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Correspondence to Rebecca Renwick .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Katrina Scior

  2. Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Shirli Werner

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Renwick, R. (2016). Rarely Seen, Seldom Heard: People with Intellectual Disabilities in the Mass Media. In: Scior, K., Werner, S. (eds) Intellectual Disability and Stigma. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52499-7_5

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